Finally Social Featured in The Faces of Kirkland with Lynn Reifert
Meet Erin Alexander of Finally Social! ~ “I have lived in Kirkland since 1991, but I was actually born in Portland. Kirkland is my forever home though. My son was born at Overlake in Bellevue, but he’s only lived in Kirkland and had always gone to Kirkland schools. Then he was kind of Kirkland’s boy because he went LWHS and was drafted to the LA Dodgers when he was in high school which was exciting! Now I’ve owned my own company, Finally Social, going on five years now. Since it’s virtual I get to work from anywhere. I have over a hundred clients right now!”
Question: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Kirkland?
Answer: “I just love that it still has the small town feel to it. I love that! I also love that they can only build five stories, so it’s never going to be like Bellevue, right? Kirkland Urban will only be five stories, which is nice. Bellevue has always felt like new money and Kirkland’s always just been old money. There’s a sense of unity here, community, family and fun. I love it and it’s close to the water too.“
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I used to sell cars and I used to do all of their Internet marketing since I was the Internet director. I also assisted with all of the internet advertising and all of that. Once my son was drafted I took some time off, eventually going back into the car business. I was ready for something different, so I went back to school to get my AA in computer graphics, web design and multimedia. I decided that I wanted to work as an assistant while I was attending college and I met Gordy Marks from Re/Max and he’s like, ‘I’m looking for an assistant ‘and I’m like, ‘I need a job as an assistant!’ It was just perfect timing, so I started working as his assistant for about a year and started doing all his Internet marketing, website, flyers, CRM and publications. Then eventually other real estate agents started coming and asking me questions and he was like, ‘no, no, no’. So then I decided to go on my own, because I saw that there was a huge need for all the social media and Internet marketing and it’s just increased even more, which has been great!”
Question: What would you say you do the most of right now?
Answer: “There’s so much that goes into social media marketing. I do audit social media platforms and posting, creating and maintaining websites, branding, logos, publication – all of it. There’s so much that goes into all of it. Some people try to figure it out on their own and then they get overwhelmed and they’re like, ‘No, I’m not doing it right.’ Because that’s not what their job is. I get paid for doing that – to be a master at that.”
Question: What is your favorite restaurant in Kirkland, and what do you love about it?
Answer: “Ristorante Paradisio. I love going there and I love, love, love having clams and linguini and in the front there’s this little table that seats four. I always try to get that table and that’s my table. ”
Question: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Kirkland? Is there anyone that stands out over the years?
Answer: “My son Theo. I’m really proud of what he’s accomplished. Playing professional baseball of course and then when he got out he looked up what the top five jobs were and he set his mind on accounting. Now he’s got his AA and working on his bachelor’s in accounting and then he’s going to get his master’s. I’m like, who are you? I could not be prouder. He is a go getter. He sets his mind on what he wants and goes and gets it.”
Question: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Answer: “I would like to go to Thailand! I’m obsessed with elephants right now. They have a whole elephant area where you can go and feed them and play with them. You can even spend days with them if you want. That would be fun.”
Question: What is your favorite movie or what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
Answer: “I used to love going down to the Park Place theater because nobody was ever in there. So I was always by myself. So, my favorite movie… You’re asking hard questions, lol! Anything Marvel. I’m a Marvel girl. Not so much DC – I could watch DC – but Marvel, I own them all. I don’t go to a lot of movies, but anytime it’s a Marvel movie, I always see it in the theater!”
Question: What advice would you give the people of Kirkland if you had their attention for a full 15 minutes?
Answer: “Hmm… I would tell them to look up. There’s so many times where everybody’s on their phone nowadays, including me, but they don’t even look up when they cross the street. Some have kids with them and then they just don’t, look, they’re not aware. Kirkland is so beautiful. I’d say just to look up, interact and smile. Yeah, that’s what I would say for sure.”
Question: What is something on your bucket list?
Answer: “Something on my bucket list is to go to Tokyo and go see all the Buddhist temples and the Japanese gardens.”
Question: What is your favorite music or bands you would like to see?
Answer: “George Benson – I saw him actually in New York when I lived there. Jennifer Lopez, she’s in concert right now and I’m so bummed she didn’t come up here. I think I would like to see Elton John. I’ve never seen him in concert and I just think that he’d be really good.”
Question: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Kirkland?
Answer: “Lee Johnson field baseball field. My son had played baseball since he was 5 and I had always wanted to see my son hit a home run there. He did when he was about 14, of course and continued to hit home runs there through his high school career. We loved to go watch the high school games there. Theo’s best friend Victor – has three brothers and two of them are twins they all played baseball there as well. This was Jesus and Johnny’s last year to play baseball. So now I don’t have anybody to go watch play baseball now. There’s a lot of great memories.”
Question: Who would you love to have lunch with?
Answer: “Hmm. I think that I would like to have lunch with Ellen or Jada Pickett Smith and I would take her to Ristorante Paradisio’s.”
Question: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
Answer: “I see myself still in business, and I will own a coworking space that has free parking maybe Kirkland or Redmond area.”
Question: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you but you want to share?
Answer: “Most people don’t know how old I am. I’m 53. Most people don’t know that I have a 25 year old son.“
Question: What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?
Answer: “Home should be blessed and it should inspire you and it should be full of grace.”
Question: If you were cast into a major motion picture, and had your choice of anyone to be your costar, who would you choose?
Answer: “I think that I would want to be in a fun girl’s movie with Jennifer Lopez or Reese Witherspoon. Just to have fun, and laugh.”
Question: If you could have a full time staff member, that was fully paid for by someone else, like a chef, housekeeper, that type of thing – what would you choose?
Answer: “I would want a housekeeper/landscaper. I like that. That’s what I need to clear my yard of blackberries so that would be wonderful!”
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Read Interview in full on the FacesOfKirkland.com
